I own none of the characters of October Road

Five years later

"Daddy. Wake up." Eddie was roused out of a nice peaceful sleep when he heard the sound of one his boys' voices. He braced himself for the tackle he knew was coming and a second later one of his five year olds' jumped onto his chest and that's when he opened his eyes.

"You're killing me Jax." Eddie told him knowing that it wasn't Jackson that was sitting on top of him.

"I'm not Jackson." Jackson and Jacob were the identical twins that were a mixture between both of their parents and Joshua was the lone triplet that was a miniature Eddie Latekka.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes daddy. I'm sure that I am Jake."

"Okay little man. I'm going to trust you." Eddie pulled him down and hugged him tightly. "Happy Birthday Jakey."

"Come on daddy. Mommy said to get up cause we are ready to go to breakfast." Every year since they were two Eddie and Janet took the boys out to breakfast on their birthday and it was a tradition that they had all come to love. Eddie looked at the bedside clock and saw that it was nine o'clock. He was surprised that the birthday boys let him sleep that long.

"How can I get up when you are on top of me?" Jacob climbed off of his father and Eddie slowly sat up. "Tell mommy I will be down in a few minutes. " Eddie knew that there was no way that they boys would be able to wait for him to shower.

As soon as Jacob bounded out of the room Eddie climbed out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. After he used the bathroom and brushed his teeth he ran some water through his bed hair and then dug through the medicine cabinet for a pain reliever. Even though it had been seven years since the tumor had been removed from his brain every year he had to go and get an MRI and follow up with Dr. Turner. After he had his MRI's he always developed a headache and Dr. Turner had given him a prescription for Vicodin. He usually took one pill, max two and his headache went away. Yesterday he had his yearly MRI, he took two Vicodin and his headache never went away. He took another couple of pills before he went to bed, which is probably why he slept so late, and he still had the headache and to top it off, he was nauseated and dizzy. He kept telling himself that is was just a normal headache, that would go away but deep down he knew it wasn't just another normal headache. He knew that his tumor had returned. He found his Vicodin, swallowed the pill and returned to the bedroom to get ready for breakfast.

"Happy Birthday boys." Eddie greeted when he walked into the living room.

"Thank you daddy." The three of them responded.

"Who is ready for a birthday breakfast?"

"Me." The three of them shouted.

"Well then let's go. " Janet announced joining her boys and in an instant the boys were gone so Janet took the opportunity to kiss her husband. "Good morning."

"Morning sweetheart."

"How is your headache?" Eddie knew Janet was worried about him and he wanted to ease her mind but he wasn't sure if he could since he himself was convinced that it wasn't good news.

"It's better."

"Please don't lie to me Eddie. I can see the pain in your eyes."

"It's no big deal. It will go away."

"Did you take a Vicodin?"

"Yes dear I did."

"If it gets worse, you'll tell me?"

"I'll tell you." At that moment Jackson returned to the living room.

"Come on." He grabbed one of each of his parent's hands and proceeded to drag them out to the garage.

After the initial rough patch after the boys were born, life in the Latekka household has been filled with happiness and testosterone. Just like Eddie had always known, Janet was a wonderful mother. She adored her boys and loved them with all that she had and the feeling was mutual because Jackson, Jacob and Joshua adored their mother. Eddie was a great father as well. When the weather was nice, he could be found outside in the backyard playing with the boys for hours on end. He wasn't afraid to show his affection for his children and he was stern when he needed to be. They were the true definition of a happy family.

The best thing about being parents of three boys that were the same age was watching them grow and become their own person. Jackson was the oldest and he acted like it even though Eddie and Janet never came out and told him that he was the oldest. He bossed his brothers around but his parents rarely let him get away with it. Jackson's personality matched his father's. He loved to roughhouse with his brothers and especially his father and more often than not left one of his brothers crying. Jacob's personality was a mixture of both Eddie and Janet. He could be mischievous like his father and sweet and caring like his mother.

Now the youngest of three was Joshua and his personality was just like Janet's and the two of them were very close. Joshua was small for his age, something his pediatrician said was normal for a premature baby. He had horrible vision and had been wearing glasses since he was eighteen months old. Eddie and Janet find themselves sometimes being over protective of Joshua since he was so small and sickly. He has had breathing problems since he was born and his constant companion is an inhaler. At his young age he had had many respiratory diseases, RSV, croup, colds, flu and even pneumonia. Jackson and Jacob sensed that Joshua struggled with the fact that he couldn't always run around and play with them and Janet and Eddie were so proud when their two older boys adjusted their game so Joshua could join them.

Over the years, business at Best Friend Windows had increased. They had so much business that they now employ ten other guys full time and the company was making an incredible profit and just because Eddie was half owner, he still worked just as hard, if not harder than his employees but he was home every night with his family. Due to the great business that BFW was doing Janet was still able to stay home with boys, something she knew many mothers wished that they could do and something that she never took for granted. She treasured every day that she was with them. She still sold candles to bring in extra money for her family a couple nights a week and usually on Saturday afternoons. It was nice to get out of the house those few days and be with grownups but nothing measured up to the love she felt at home when she was with her boys, including Eddie. Janet was the center of their lives and they showed it every day when they showered her with their love.

Even though neither though it was possible, their marriage has grown stronger, more solid over the years. Janet thought that Eddie was the best husband. Without Eddie's support and faith in her Janet didn't know if she would have made it through the depression without him. With him, she was able to be the mother that she had always dreamed that she could be. Their lives were very full taking care of their boys. In fact, it seemed that their entire existence revolved around the triplets and they wouldn't have it any other way but Eddie always made sure Janet felt like a woman and not just a mother. Besides their anniversary when he sent flowers, he would either send flowers or bring flowers home for no reason except to tell her he loved her. He always made a point to tell her how beautiful she was, even if she was just in an old pair of sweats and a tee shirt. He made a point to have a date night every week, his parents came over to spend time with their grandson's and Eddie and Janet were able to spend time together as a couple and Eddie always made sex a priority for them. It was one way that he knew for sure that he could remind Janet how much he loved her.

While Janet though that Eddie was the best husband a woman could ask for he thought the same thing. He knew he was the luckiest man in the world simply because he was married to the best woman who was an amazing wife to him and mother to his boys. She made their house a home. She put him and their children first, most of the time depriving herself of things that she wanted but she wouldn't have things any other way and she loved them with all of her heart. Eddie couldn't wait to come at the end of the day to see her; to see her smile; to see the way her eyes light up when she told him of her day with the boys. It was the perfect life.

But not everything had been easy. Along with dealing with Josh's constant health problems Janet had to worry about Eddie. Since the triplets had been born, he had two more tumors removed from his brain, one when t he boys were a year and a half and the second was when they were four. Dr. Turner told them that the tumors were benign but that didn't stop Janet from worrying every time Dr. Turner opened Eddie's skull to remove them and then his recovery from the surgeries was never easy and then Janet ended up taking care of an additional person but never once did she complain because she knew, it could always be worse.

Later that day Eddie was in the living room setting up some extra chairs for the boys' birthday party when his cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Eddie, its Dr. Turner. I'm so sorry to call you on a Saturday but I got your MRI results and…"

"I don't want to hear them." Eddie's gut feeling had just been right. His results were bad because why else would his doctor call him on a weekend.

"Eddie it's serious."

"Look, today is my kids' birthday and I'm setting up for their party now and I'm not ruining this day for them or for Janet. I've obviously got another tumor. You can give me the results at my follow up appointment on Monday." Eddie had been Dr. Turner's patient long enough for Dr. Turner to know that it would be pointless to argue with him.

"I hope your boys have a great birthday." Dr. Turner conceded.

"So far they have and they will. I'll see you Monday. Thanks for calling."

"Hey who was that? Is someone cancelling?" Janet asked as Eddie slipped his phone back in his pocket.

"It's a work thing. Jason had to check on a job and he was calling with an update." He hated lying to her but like he told his doctor, he wasn't going to ruin this day for her.

"How's your headache baby?" He had been trying to hide his pain but Janet knew him so well.

"It's tolerable."

"This headache, it's different than you're normal post MRI headache."

"Later. We'll talk later."

"But I…" Eddie reached out and cupped her cheek, halting her response.

"Later Janet." When he saw her mouth open to presumably argue with him, Eddie bent down and kissed her, ending the conversation.

"Grr…ooooo…ssss" The boys called, causing their parents to pull apart.

"Kissing your mother is so not gross." Eddie informed them.

"Is it time for our party yet?" The always impatient Jackson asked.

"Not yet Jax. " Eddie answered.

"When?"

"Soon."

"When is soon?" Jackson wasn't relenting.

"Relax kiddo." Eddie told him.

"Mommy can I have one of the balloons please?" Jacob asked. Janet had decorated the living room with streamers, birthday signs and balloons.

"I suppose." Janet looked at the other two. "Do you two want one?"

"Yes please." Jackson and Joshua answered together. With a smile Janet gave the boys each a balloon and then disappeared into the kitchen.

"Wanna scare mom?" The boys' eyes lit up with excitement and they nodded. Eddie leaned down and whispered his plan and then the four of them snuck to the entrance of the kitchen. As quietly as he could he couldn't to three and the boys all popped their balloons causing Janet to jump and scream and the boys to holler with laughter.

"That was not funny." Janet told them when her heart rate returned to normal. "Whose idea was it?"

"Daddy." The boys turned on their father in an instant.

"It was not. It was their idea." Eddie defended himself by blaming his innocent children.

"Daddy's lying." Joshua yelled.

"Yes I know he is." Janet knew eventually the triplets would come up with those ideas on their own but right now she knew this was all Eddie.

"Is dad in trouble?" Jackson asked with a grin. He loved the idea of his dad getting into trouble.

"Yes you're father is in trouble, big trouble. " The triplets laughed and before anything could be said the doorbell rang and the boys cheered.

"Party." They shouted and raced to the door.

"I guess you're punishment will have to wait." Janet said with a wink.

"I can hardly wait."

"I am amazed that you managed to put together this great party with three kids. I can barely put together dinner and I just have Lexi. How do you do it?" Hannah asked as the two of them were cleaning up.

"It's not that hard especially since the boys are in preschool. They are only there for three days a week and I find myself so bored when they are gone so I go crazy. I think that I may have to find a part time job when the boys start school or I am going to lose my mind." Janet told her friend.

"You've got your candles. Isn't that enough to keep idle hands busy?"

"It's fine for now. I spend all day with the boys and then a couple nights a week I take off but once they are in school they will be gone all day and I want to be there for them when they get home from school. Being there for them, it's something that Eddie and I decided that we wanted for our boys."

"I may have a solution to your job problem if you are willing to start before the boys start school." Nick stated. Janet didn't even realize that Nick had joined them.

"And what might that be?"

"Sherri, our secretary just put in her notice. You can take her place."

"That's a great idea Janet." Hannah said.

"I don't know." Janet mumbled.

"Don't know what?" Eddie asked walking into the kitchen.

"Janet was talking about getting a job once the boys go back to school." Nick told him.

"My lovely wife has been very lonely since the boys started preschool and therefore she's been going crazy. "

"Well I suggested that Janet come in and take over for Sherri."

"Our Sherri?" Eddie asked and Nick nodded. "I like it."

"I don't know baby if us working together is a good idea."

"Are you afraid that you won't be able to handle me being your boss?" Eddie winked at her. "You're the boss at home and you're not willing to give up control."

"I am the boss here and no matter where I am, no matter what the situation, I will always be your boss."

"Take the job sweetheart and we'll see who the boss is."

"You're on." The couple joked with each other. In their relationship there was no boss. Their marriage was an equal partnership.

"Mommy, I want to go swimming." Joshua announced joining them in the kitchen. Every year since they were three when Sharon and husband Mike came to town for the boys' birthday they rented a hotel room at a hotel with a great swimming pool and waterslides and after their party Sharon and Mike took the boys back with them for a night filled with fun and swimming.

"Janet honey, the boys are ready to go." Janet's mom Sharon told them.

"I've got their bags ready." Janet walked out of the kitchen to the dining room where the boys' bags were packed and ready. She reached into one of the bags and pulled out a bag of medication. "This is Josh's medicine. The inhaler in here is the one that he uses four times a day, two puffs at a time. I usually hold it in his mouth and spray after the count of three and then he knows the drill. I have already attached the spacer. It works best with it. The pills are his Singular. They are chewable and he gets it every morning." Janet reached in her pocket and pulled another inhaler out and handed it to her mom. "This is his emergency inhaler. If he has an attack he needs to puffs and then he has to rest. He can use another two puffs every five minutes until his symptoms subside. He gets scared when he has an attack so make sure if it happens, you hold him and calm him down as quickly as you can because the more upset he is, the worse his breathing is and mom, please call me if…"

"I'll call." Janet nodded. "I'll take good care of him."

"I know you will mom. It's not you. I just worry about him no matter who he is with."

"It's because you are a good mother." Janet hugged her mom.

"Thanks for taking them for the night. You're going to have your hands full."

"I'm looking forward to spending time with my grandsons."

"Let me know how you feel about that tomorrow."

"Is it time to go Grandma?" The boys were all standing in the dining room, looking very eager to go swimming.

"We can go as soon as you kiss your mom and dad goodbye. " The boys threw themselves into their mother's arms.

"Bye mommy." They told her.

"Be good for Grandma and Grandpa. You listen to them and when they tell you it's time to get out of the pool then you better get out of the pool or else you won't play with your new bikes when you get home. Do you understand me?" Janet and Eddie had splurged and bought them all new bikes for their birthday. Even though it was the beginning of March, the basement that Eddie had converted into a play room for the three of them was big enough for them to ride their bikes in.

"Yes ma'am."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Fifteen minutes after the triplets left the Latekka home the remaining stragglers headed out leaving Janet and Eddie alone, for the first time in a long time. "Okay. This is just too weird. It's too quiet." Eddie commented once they had the house cleaned up and settled on the couch.

"It's nice. I love those boys but it's nice when they aren't here. I can actually hear myself think."

"What are you thinking about hon?" Janet stretched out on the couch and placed her feet on Eddie's lap and he immediately began to massage them, a treat that Janet loved.

"I'm thinking about a few things. "

"Spill baby."

"Are you really okay with me working again and me working with or for you since we agreed that I would be a stay at home mom?"

"You've been a stay at home mom for five years Janet and I get that you want to return to work. My main concern was that I wanted you to be there for our boys, which you have been and working with me, having me as your boss, it's to our advantage because I have some say over your schedule. You can come in after the boys are at school and leave in time to be home for the boys."

"But what about this summer? Sherri is leaving in a couple of weeks."

"Well I have been thinking about that and I'm sure that mom will watch the boys. She's already watching Amanda for Katie and Ikey and she is always offering to watch the boys, if you go back to work."

"Don't get me wrong. I love staying home with them but sometimes, I just need some adult time."

"I hear you. " Eddie moved to her other foot. "So what else is on your mind?"

"Your headache."

"I lied to you Janet."

"You're headaches are worse then you are telling me aren't they?" Eddie nodded.

"They are but that's not what I lied to you about. Telling you that my headache isn't so bad when it is and you worrying about me…that's the normal thing that we do."

"What did you lie to me about Eddie?"

"That phone call that I got before the party, it wasn't work."

"Who was it?"

"Dr. Turner."

"You should have told me. Why did you lie to me?"

"I'm telling you now." Janet glared at her husband. "I know. I should have told you when I hung up but I didn't want to ruin today for you or the boys."

"What did he say? Is it bad?"

"He didn't. I didn't give him a chance but I figured that it can't be good if he is calling me on a Saturday."

"Then why in the hell didn't you let him give you your results." Janet pulled her feet out of his lap and sat up.

"I already told you. I wasn't ruining today for you guys and besides, I obviously have another tumor and two more days isn't going to make a damn bit of difference."

"You don't know that Eddie."

"We've been through this before Janet. Dr. Turner will tell me that I have another tumor and then he'll crack my skull open, pull it out and we'll continue to live normally for another few years until my over-zealous brain cells decide to grow another tumor and then we will have this same conversation."

"We've been through similar situations but Dr. Turner has never called us at home on a weekend before. He usually waits until your follow up appointment. Something's not right."

"See that's why I didn't want to tell you. Now you are all worried and there isn't anything that we can do about it." Eddie snapped.

"If you would have just taken the damn call then maybe there is something that we could be doing and I wouldn't worry so much." Janet snapped back. "You infuriate me."

"You know I'm trying to be positive but you're making it really hard."

"You're worried aren't you and don't you lie to me." Eddie sighed and looked away but Janet wasn't having it. She moved from her seat and onto his lap so she could look into his eyes. "Look at me baby." Eddie slowly lifted his head.

"I'm worried." He admitted laying his head on his wife's shoulder.

"Whatever the results are, good or bad, you and I, we're in this together."

"Thanks Janet and I'm sorry that I lied to you." Janet kissed his lips.

"Don't let it happen again."

"Yes ma'am." Eddie leaned back against the couch and pulled Janet with him. It was nice for the two of them to just be able to sit and cuddle without constant interruption.

After a few minutes of watching television, Janet began to feel a little frisky so she began to place soft kisses and nibbles on Eddie's neck while rubbing a free hand up and down his thigh and Eddie was in heaven. He just laid back, closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of Janet's hand and lips on his body. "How is your headache?" She whispered in his ear, causing goose bumps to rise on his arms.

"Still hurts." He mumbled.

"Awe. That's a shame." Without warning she pulled herself off of his lap.

"What? Why is that a shame?"

"Well if your head was feeling better I was going to show you who the boss in this relationship is." She began to walk away. "Oh well. I guess we'll just have to wait until it's better but by the time that it is better, the boys will probably be home so…" She never got to finish her sentence.

"It doesn't hurt that bad." Eddie jumped up and grabbed her hand, practically dragging her upstairs to their bedroom. "And I'm going to show you who is boss." Janet giggled as she was being drug up the stairs. "Now strip." Eddie demanded when they reached the room.

"I'm a little chilly."

"Strip. Now." Very rarely did they act out the dominate fantasies but when they did, especially when Eddie was the dominate sexual partner, it really turned Janet on. With shaking hands, due to excitement, Janet quickly began to unbutton her shirt. "Slow. Take it off slow."

"I'm sorry." Fighting the urge to just rip her shirt off, she slowly unbuttoned it and slid it off her shoulders, to the floor. She reached behind her to unhook her bra but Eddie reached out to stop her.

"Leave it on. Pants next." Janet followed his instructions. "Now take my shirt and pants off."

"Yes sir."

"Do you like what you see?" Eddie asked once his shirt was tossed on the floor.

"Very much." Janet carefully removed his jeans taking extreme care not to touch the raging erection in front of her.

"Now you may remove your bra." The second her bra fell from her body, Eddie had his hands all over her breasts, savoring the feel of the soft skin under his rough hands. Janet moaned and threw her head back in delight and when he finally pulled away she whimpered in despair. "Get on your knees." He told her huskily and Janet immediately obliged. "Take my underwear off and suck me." Without argument Janet removed his boxers and took him in her mouth. "Son of a bitch Janet." Eddie groaned when Janet began to move over him. He reached down and wrapped his fingers in her curls. He didn't force her, he would never do that. Feeling her head moving added to the pleasure he was feeling from Janet's mouth on him and her hand caressing and pinching his ass. "Enough." Eddie growled pulling Janet away from him with a pop.

"Didn't you like it?" She asked from her knees, batting her eyes. Eddie pulled her to her feet.

"I loved it but it's not what I want right now." If she would have continued he would have cum and he wasn't ready for that yet. "Get on the bed on all fours."

"What about…" She hooked her thumbs in her underwear.

"I said get on the bed." With a grin Janet climbed on the bed on her hands and knees. Eddie climbed on the bed behind Janet and took a moment to admire her ass. After running his hands over her panty-clad butt he pulled them down to mid-thigh, spread her legs and inserted two fingers inside her wet, warm center.

"Oh…God…" Janet cried, pushing down onto his fingers. She was already so close that it only took a couple of thrusts and she was orgasming. Watching Janet achieve her first climax, Eddie couldn't wait to be inside of her. Due to his impatience he ripped her underwear from her thighs.

"Eddie…what the hell?"

"Did I tell you that you could talk?" Not given her a chance to respond he thrust himself inside of her, eliciting a scream of pleasure from Janet.

Eddie was ruthless. He pounded into Janet with reckless abandon and she loved every minute of it. She met him thrust for thrust and her words, moans and groans just encouraged him. He managed to give her two more orgasms before he finally exploded inside of his wife, shouting out her name.

"Did I hurt you?" Eddie asked. They had collapsed in on top of each other, sweaty, breathless, exhausted, completely stated and spent.

"Of course not. It was amazing. I love it when you take control."

"I'll admit that I like taking control…sometimes." Janet giggled, turned on her side and kissed Eddie softly until they both heard an annoying beeping sound.

"What the hell is that?" Eddie grumbled, slightly irritated that he had to stop kissing Janet.

"It sounds like…Oh my God." Janet jumped out of bed and grabbed her robe.

"What?"

"It's the smoke alarm." Eddie was out of bed in an instant searching for his pants. "I put a pie in the oven and I forgot about it."

Rushing downstairs they encountered a small amount of smoke but when they got to the kitchen it was full of black smoke. Eddie grabbed two towels, one to hold over his face and one to open the oven with and when he opened the oven smoke came billowing out. Janet opened windows while Eddie struggled to find the burnt pie.

"Can you please turn the alarm off?" Janet shouted.

"I wouldn't have to if you hadn't forgotten that there was a pie in the oven" He shouted with a smirk.

"I got distracted." After the smoke alarm was turned off the couple went into the living room to open the front door and some more windows to air out the house. "Would you like a piece of pie?" Janet cracked and the two of them burst out laughing, and for a few minutes, they weren't thinking about Eddie's possible tumors and their unknown future. They were just living in the moment.